Pike. 



37 



mouth without including the tri- 

 angles ; an over-vigorous strike, 

 therefore, is unnecessary, and 

 may invite a smash in the case of 

 light tackle. It will soon be evi- 

 dent whether the cause of stop- 

 page is animate or inanimate. If 

 it is a fish he will soon give a 

 plunge that will insert the hooks 

 beyond the barb. The art of 

 playing him does not require un- 

 usual skill ; he will no doubt try 

 to get under a bush or other ob- 

 struction, and the main business 

 of the angler must be to defeat 

 these wiles as best he can. Any 

 violent plunges can be counter- 

 acted by allowing the reel to run 

 freely ; he will soon play himself 

 out, and be ready for the gaff. 



There are many other lures to 

 which Esox Indus falls a prey. A 

 spoon is a good bait, especially in 

 slightly discoloured water. There 

 are endless patterns, most of 

 which are killing. I prefer the 

 pattern silvered on the concave 

 side and bronzed on the back. A 

 red tassel, to which a triple hook 

 is attached, makes it attractive. 

 Pike have a taste for full war- 

 paint and feathers. This is a 

 good river lure, and for lough fish- 

 ing one of the best that can be 

 mounted. I have fished some of 

 the Irish pike lakes, and, trolling 

 from a boat, took some large fish 

 with the spoon. For the big 

 specimens found in such water, 

 the size of the bait can scarcely 

 be too large. The water is very 

 deep in places, and 40 yds. of line 

 should be let out so as to allow 

 the bait to sink well. Trolling 

 along the reed-fringed margin the 

 spoon was stopped again and 

 again, precursory to a battle royal 

 with the sturdy combatants. It 

 is in these great lakes that the 

 fighting power of the pike is seen 

 to best advantage. They have 

 plenty of sea room and make long 

 runs, not unworthy of a salmon. 



I have never known river fish to 

 play with anything like their 

 energy. No wonder, indeed, for 

 they live in the purest of water, 

 and trout comprise their staple 

 diet ! In an autopsy made on a 

 twenty-five - pounder, taken re- 

 cently in Lough Corrib, a water- 

 hen and a shell duck were dis- 

 covered. This ought to be a 

 sufficient hint to anglers to use 

 large baits. The " swallow-tail " 

 is a good river bait ; it is made of 

 rubber and of the gaudy type that 

 attracts attention. At the tails of 

 swift rapids it has the knack of 

 finding the whereabouts of an ex- 

 pectant feeder. All rubber baits 

 are easily scored with the sharp 

 teeth of jack, and consequently are 

 less durable ; but notwithstanding 

 this objection, the swallow-tail, 

 unless bitten through, lasts a long 

 time. The rectangular Devon is 

 metallic and not open to this ob- 

 jection. The fins, being set the 

 reverse way, make the bait revolve 

 well in the water, and as the hooks 

 cover the lure at all points a pike 

 cannot easily escape being hooked 

 when he snaps at it. Large phan- 

 toms are now made of horn and 

 other more durable materials, 

 and present features of attraction 

 to pike, which, like all other 

 terrestrial creatures, have a taste 

 for novelty. 



When sport is slow, variety in 

 the lures proffered to pike has to 

 be studied. Another pattern fly 

 frequently brings a salmon to the 

 scratch literally. A dry-fly man 

 changes from duns to wickhams, 

 and from alders to sedges, and 

 wisdom is justified of her children. 

 The wary trout at length falls a 

 prey to these beguilements. A 

 parallel' presents itself in the 

 case of the pike. Though a 

 voracious feeder, he gives ample 

 evidence of fastidiousness. A bait 

 presented in one form goes by 

 unnoticed, offered in another it is 



